A/HRC/19/56 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the independent expert on minority issues was originally established by the Commission on Human Rights in 2005 (by resolution 2005/79), and subsequently extended by the General Assembly (resolution 60/251) and the Human Rights Council (resolution 7/6). On 24 March 2011, the Human Rights Council decided to renew the mandate of the independent expert for an additional period of three years (resolution 16/6). 2. In July 2011, the Human Rights Council decided to appoint Ms. Rita Izsák from Hungary as the new mandate holder. Ms. Izsák assumed the duties of her mandate on 1 August 2011. The independent expert wishes to gratefully acknowledge the trust that has been placed in her by the Human Rights Council to carry out her duties as mandate holder, and wishes to thank the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and its staff for their continuing assistance. 3. The present report is the independent expert’s first report to the Council, in which she wishes to provide a number of reflections on how she intends to fulfil the requirements of her mandate, inter alia to promote implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (Declaration on Minorities). The report consists of five parts. Section I contains a brief description of the activities of the new mandate holder during the period 1 August 2011 to December 2011. Section II provides a preliminary plan of proposed activities and priorities for the coming year. Section III provides an overview of the activities undertaken by the former mandate holder, Ms. Gay McDougall for the period from December 2010 until 31 July 2011. Section IV provides information relating to work conducted by the mandate in the context of the Forum on Minority Issues during the reporting period. Section V considers activities to be undertaken to mark the 20th anniversary of the Declaration on Minorities in 2012. 4. Addendum 1 to the present report is the report of the official visit of the former independent expert, Gay McDougall, to Rwanda from 31 January to 7 February 2011. Addendum 2 is the report of the official visit of the former independent expert to Bulgaria from 4 to 11 July 2011. 5. The independent expert wishes to express her deep appreciation and admiration to her predecessor as independent expert on minority issues, Ms. Gay McDougall, for her important work in the areas of minority issues conducted over two terms as mandate holder. Through her thematic work Ms. McDougall contributed greatly to promoting implementation of the Declaration on Minorities and significantly enhanced the understanding of the United Nations and the international community on important minority issues by identifying challenges as well as positive practices. Through her country-specific work and official visits to twelve countries she provided valuable analysis and insight into country situations and drew attention to the concerns and issues of specific minorities. II. Activities of the independent expert 6. The independent expert has written to those States visited by her predecessor (Hungary, Ethiopia, France, Dominican Republic, Greece, Guyana, Kazakhstan, Canada, Colombia and Viet Nam)1 to request information relating to the implementation by those 1 4 Visits were also conducted to Rwanda and Bulgaria during 2011; however the reports and recommendations from these visits will be presented to the Human Rights Council at its nineteenth session.